SPRINGFIELD – A 19-year-old city man was arrested Thursday and charged with robbing a female jogger of her cell phone on Bradley Road, and police believe he is a suspect of similar recent robberies in East Forest Park, Upper Hill and Sixteen Acres, police said

Arrested and charged with unarmed robbery was David A. Beadle of 18 Brandon Ave., said Springfield police Sgt. John Delaney.

Detectives are now working to link him as a suspect in at least three other robberies that occurred since Sunday, in which four women were attacked while jogging or walking and had their cell phones stolen, Delaney said.

Police are also searching for another suspect who police believe drove a white van used as a getaway vehicle in the prior robberies, Delaney said.

Each of the robberies occurred in broad daylight in the middle of the day.

The first was reported on Sunday at Wilbraham Road and Alden Street when two women reported being robbed of their phones as they pushed a baby carriage. On Wednesday, a woman reported being robbed just after noon while jogging near Arcadia Boulevard. Less than an hour later, another female jogger reported being robbed at Wilbraham and Alden, Delaney said.

In each instance, a cell phone was taken, and the suspect jumped into a white van that fled the scene.

The latest robbery occurred just before 1 p.m. on Bradley Road near Cherokee Drive.
According to Delaney, the robbery was witnessed by Kyle Wheeler of East Longmeadow and Gary Spillane of Wilbraham.

Wheeler, a corrections officer with the state of Connecticut, and Spillane, a retired corrections officer, gave chase from Bradley Road to Emmet Street where they caught and tackled Beadle, Delaney said.

A second suspect ran through some back yards and escaped.

Police found a white van matching the description of the vehicle seen at the other robberies parked on Emmet Street, Delaney said.

Delaney said that Springfield police had already identified Beadle as a suspect in the Sunday robbery, had applied for a district court arrest warrant and were looking for him when they heard he had been apprehended Thursday afternoon.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Springfield District Court, he said.

Delaney said people who are out jogging, in particular women, should take precautions before they set out. He recommended sticking to open, well-populated routes, that they take precautions with their cell phones and any other devices, and that they be aware of their surroundings. He also recommended people notify a friend or relative of the route they will be taking.